{"id":34207,"date":"2025-04-23T18:04:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T18:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/millennial-bible-use-jumped-29\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T18:04:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T18:04:00","slug":"millennial-bible-use-jumped-29","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/millennial-bible-use-jumped-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Millennial Bible Use Jumped 29%"},"content":{"rendered":"
A 2025 report from the American Bible Society suggests that Bible use is rising—especially among young adults who, until recently, were among the least likely to open a Bible at all.<\/p>\n\n
According to State of the Bible: USA 2025<\/em>, the percentage of U.S. adults who read the Bible outside of church at least three times a year increased from 38% to 41% in the last year. That’s roughly 10 million more adults engaging with Scripture—marking the first increase in Bible use since 2021.<\/p>\n\n
The sharpest rise appears among millennials, where reported Bible use jumped by 29% in a single year. Gen Z also showed noticeable movement. It’s a striking turnaround, especially considering that both groups have typically lagged behind older generations in religious activity. But the numbers may not be as clear-cut as they seem.<\/p>\n\n
The study also found that Scripture engagement—a metric that factors in not just Bible reading, but how much Scripture influences someone’s choices, relationships, and worldview—rose from 11% to 15% among Gen Z, and from 12% to 17% among millennials.<\/p>\n\n
The study defines Scripture engagement broadly, factoring in a range of self-reported behaviors and attitudes. It also relies on a survey sample of just 2,656 adults—a relatively small group to draw sweeping generational conclusions from, especially when measuring a spike as large as 29%.<\/p>\n\n